Marketing firm admits using your own phone to listen in on your conversations

[vreihen16]

I remember a thread where M_Six had suspected this was happening.....

Your long-held suspicions are confirmed, according to a report: Your phone really is listening to you.

A marketing firm whose clients include Facebook and Google has privately admitted that it listens to users’ smartphone microphones and then places ads based on the information that is picked up, according to 404 Media.

https://nypost.com/2024/09/03/busine...ophone-report/

[antgenn]

Not a news for me, we noticed long ago that Facebook pushes ads related to a conversation in the room in the real time.

[Joebie]

Not news to me either.

I sold my motorcycle years ago. I havent googled, searched, or expressed interest in anything motorcycle related for a long while.

We had a meeting at work where a coworker of mine, knowing i had a history with motorcycles, asked for recommendations for helmet intercom systems. It was a short 2 minute face-to-face conversation. My phone was in my hand and well exposed to this conversation.

Later that day i was shown ads for Sena motorcycle helmet intercom system. I never pulled up any pictures, googled, or interacted with my phone in any way related to that type of product other than having a conversation with a co-worker next to my phone.

I hadnt been shown an ad like that for years before the conversation, and never saw the ad again after the day of the conversation.

There is 0 doubt in my mind that the phone heard my conversation with my coworker and recommended me products based on our verbal conversation.

[M_Six]

We've tested this theory by bringing up something totally ridiculous in conversation and sure enough, an ad for what we talked about will pop up on Wifey's phone. I don't do Facebook and I run a pretty effective ad blocker, so I rarely see ads anyway. But FB is notorious for them.

[M-technik-3]

Your apps sell data to the auto insurance as well. Easily solved leave the phone HOME.

[DrVenture]

On an iPhone there is a orange dot at the top right, when an app is using the microphone.

[reallymarkedup]

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by M-technik-3

Your apps sell data to the auto insurance as well. Easily solved leave the phone HOME.

Or, like me, just don't own one unless it's actually necessary. So far, here, it's not.

[ppointer]

I deleted my FB account in 2016. No more ads and no regrets.

[floridaorange]

While disabling microphone access helps ensure privacy, there are still discussions about apps potentially gathering data through indirect means, such as analyzing typed conversations or search history for ad targeting.

[tranquility]

It's unfortunately hard to avoid unless you have a super hacker friend who can work his magic. I laugh at those ppl who years ago thought it was silly to cover one's phone/computer cameras "no way! oh, I got nothing to hide bla bla bla".

We try to do our best to mitigate, even though it's tough, not just give up and let everything take advantage of you.

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by DrVenture

On an iPhone there is a orange dot at the top right, when an app is using the microphone.

Do you actually trust that? iPhones ship with "hey, Siri" enabled by default, and it doesn't show the orange "microphone" dot. For that matter, neither does the phone app, Facetime, Zoom, or the camera app. That says to me that there is at least one way around getting eavesdrop access to the microphone(s) in an iPhone that doesn't show the "microphone" dot.....

[Gemini562]

A non-smartphone is the ultimate escape plan. No apps, no voice assistants, just pure, old-school peace of mind.

[Boomer 2019]

That's why God invented flip phones. Smartphones and social media are signs of the end times. That's my take, and I'm stickin' to it.

[vreihen16]

I have one because I work(ed) in IT, and needed to check on things without driving to the office all hours of the day/night. Now that I'm involuntarily retired, most millennials would be shocked to see my iPhone's home screen:



I don't do social media. The QField app is for GIS/mapping at the tree farm (open-source), I needed to install the Home Assistant app (open-source) to configure a new smart light switch, and the Libre 3 app is keeping me alive.

If my cellular-enabled Apple Watch didn't need to be paired to an iPhone, I wouldn't even have a cell phone (that I've had with the same phone number since 1987 and I don't give out to anyone but immediate family).....

[FrankMstein]

Old news. I'm not a spy so IDRGAS.

[DrVenture]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

Do you actually trust that? iPhones ship with "hey, Siri" enabled by default, and it doesn't show the orange "microphone" dot. For that matter, neither does the phone app, Facetime, Zoom, or the camera app. That says to me that there is at least one way around getting eavesdrop access to the microphone(s) in an iPhone that doesn't show the "microphone" dot.....

When I say "Hey, Siri", the orange dot appears indicating that it is listening. My assumption is that it is capable of reacting to the wake word "Hey, Siri", without listening to everything else, but that is an assumption.

I would also think that the manufacturer has control over the orange dot, but not third-party app developers. I have no concrete proof of this, but I submit the info because some may be unaware that the "dot" even exists.

My thinking on all things is that without data, everything is simply "belief", leaving me with no useful info either way, only theory to be tested.

[DrVenture]

Originally Posted by Boomer 2019

That's why God invented flip phones. Smartphones and social media are signs of the end times. That's my take, and I'm stickin' to it.

Okay, Boomer! lol

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by DrVenture

When I say "Hey, Siri", the orange dot appears indicating that it is listening. My assumption is that it is capable of reacting to the wake word "Hey, Siri", without listening to everything else, but that is an assumption.

Amazon got called out because Alexa was sending audio to the Bezos mothership to detect the wake word.

I would not ass-u-me anything with Siri, and know that my Apple Watch is listening to everything because it sends loud sound environment alerts every time that I use a hand dryer in a public washroom with no orange dot visible.....

[reallymarkedup]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

Amazon got called out because Alexa was sending audio to the Bezos mothership to detect the wake word.

I would not ass-u-me anything with Siri, and know that my Apple Watch is listening to everything because it sends loud sound environment alerts every time that I use a hand dryer in a public washroom with no orange dot visible.....

I have no dog in this race, but you can't conflate that with "it must be listening to what I'm saying". It's wholly possible to measure the decibel level without actually listening to anything (or recording it, etc). That's how decibel meters work.

[DrVenture]

I have no doubt there are bad actors out there. With billions of users and many very tech savvy, I reassure myself on two fronts. First, that in short order any large entity performing in bad faith will be caught out and the repercussions severe against their business. And secondly, I don't care who hears what I say, I have little to hide. I suppose celebrities and politicians worry about such things. However, if they reveal themselves as yambags, it makes me smile.

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by reallymarkedup

I have no dog in this race, but you can't conflate that with "it must be listening to what I'm saying". It's wholly possible to measure the decibel level without actually listening to anything (or recording it, etc). That's how decibel meters work.

No doubt. I'm just pointing out multiple ways that apps can access the microphone without toggling the orange light on. That means that there's a software API available, documented or not, that can be exploited by nefarious app developers to listen in and target ads like this company has been caught doing.....